At least three people have been killed and 35 injured in a series of near-simultaneous car bomb explosions in Chechnya's second largest city, Gudermes.

There are many, many people who received injuries and some people died

Gudermes administration chief Malika Gezimiyeva

The town is the seat of the republic's pro-Moscow administration, and the powerful blasts appeared to target official buildings.

One exploded near a court building, another outside the local prosecutor's office, while a third was detonated in a car parked near a police station.

The Russian Interior Ministry said 16 Chechen policemen who work for the Russian Government were injured in the attacks, two of them seriously.

A fourth car packed with explosives is reported to have been blown up by Russian soldiers.

"There are many, many people who received injuries and some people died," Gudermes administration chief Malika Gezimiyeva said, quoted by Interfax.

The pro-Moscow Prime Minister, Stanislav Ilyasov, has sent an emergency commission to Gudermes to investigate the explosions.

So far, no-one has accepted responsibility for the car bombs but in the past Moscow has blamed Chechen rebels, who are locked in a bloody conflict with Russian forces.

In April, six Chechen policemen were killed in a bomb attack at a police building in Gudermes.

Pro-Russian unease

A number of local Chechen administrators recently resigned in protest against what they said was Moscow's failure to provide them with adequate protection against rebel attacks.

BBC regional analyst Steven Eke says Russia points to the institutions of civilian rule and Chechnya's partly restored legal system in order to show that its often bloody campaign against the rebels has brought positive results.

Russian forces are also vulnerable to guerrilla attack

The attacks came on the same day as an announcement from the chairman of Russia's central electoral commission that local elections may be held in Chechnya in 2002.

But our analyst says a long-term solution to Chechnya's instability is likely to remain elusive if rebel attacks continue against representatives of the Russian-backed local authorities.

The rebels launch almost daily attacks, both on Russian troops in Chechnya and on pro-Moscow Chechen officials, often planting mines and staging shoot-outs.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian military command reported that 10 rebels had been killed the previous day.